Lawsuit filed by estate of Sterling Heights man killed in crash

The estate of a 31-year-old Sterling Heights man killed in a car crash near his home last summer has sued the driver whom it says was at-fault and the company that owned the vehicle he drove.

Ramesh Pitchika’ estate filed the lawsuit Dec. 28 against Michael Robert Belanger and vehicle owner Belanger Brothers Maintenance Inc. in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens. It seeks damages for the crash that occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 29, at the intersection of Metropolitan Parkway and Dodge Park Road.

Belanger is accused of driving a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer past a red traffic signal on westbound Metro Parkway and striking the 2000 Toyota Camry driven by Pitchika on southbound Dodge Park on the drivers side. Both vehicles rolled over. Pitchika died and his 28-year-old brother, Saikumar Pitchika, who occupied the front passenger seat, suffered minor injuries.

The attorney for Pitchika’s estate, Michael Kavanaugh, said the brothers lived with their parents and were on their way to get coffee. The family is devastated, he said.

“The family is having a tough time coming to grips with this,” Kavanaugh said. “His brother saw him (Pitchika) hanging upside in the vehicle. It’s affected him.”

Pitchika was studying abroad to become a physical therapist and was home on a break from school.

Kavanaugh said Belanger was not ticketed but he is blamed in the police report. He said he suspects Belanger was distracted because the light had been red for some time, although the “black box” recovered from Trailblazer shows a slight acceleration before the crash. Police said alcohol was not a factor.

“We believe this could be a texting or a cell phone situation,” he said. “There certainly is some reason his attention was diverted.”

Riding with Belanger, who was 46, was a 54-year-old man and 14-year-old female, who were treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said at the time.

Belanger Brothers Maintenance is located in Ira Township but does not have a listed telephone number.

The lawsuit, assigned to Judge David Viviano, seeks damages in excess of loss of earning capacity “in excess of statutory No-Fault maximums and beyond three years,” as well as for medical, funeral and burial expenses, and Pitchika’s pain and suffering, according to the complaint.

It also seeks damages for “negligent infliction of emotional distress” suffered by Saikumar Pitchika, the lawsuit says.